The Fern and the Bamboo

The Fern and the Bamboo

A man's conversation with God

One day I decided to quit.

 

I quit my job, my relationship...I wanted to quit my life.

 

I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.

 

"God", I asked, "Can You give me one good reason not to quit?"

 

His answer surprised me. "Look around," He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"

 

"Yes, Lord" I replied.

 

God said, "When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds I took very good care of them. I gave them light, I gave them water and the fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the forest floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed - but I did not quit on the bamboo.

In the second year the fern grew ever more vibrant and plentiful, and again, nothing came from the bamboo seed.

 

In year three, there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not give up on it.

 

In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. Still, I would not quit.

 

Then -- in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant - but just six months later the bamboo rose to over 100-feet tall.

 

It had spent the five years growing its roots deep.  Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of My creations a challenge they could not handle."

 

Then He asked me, "Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots? I would not quit on the bamboo and you are of more value to Me than the bamboo. I will never quit on you."

 

"Don't compare yourself to others," He continued. "The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern yet they both make the forest beautiful. Your time will come. You will rise high."

 

"How high should I rise, Lord?" I asked.

 

"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.

 

"As high as it can?" I questioned.

 

"Yes!" He said. "Give Me the glory by rising as high as you can."

 

I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you. Never – never - never give up!

 

Don't tell the Lord how big your problem is, tell the problem how GREAT the Lord is!

Be blessed in Jesus,

Weylin

Keep your eye on the Eastern sky!

"For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be." Matthew 24:27

"Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye shall see Him, and they which have pierced Him, and all the tribes of the land shall wail because of Him. Yea. Amen." Revelation 1:7

The 60s in Kinsley, Kansas, Part 1

A lot happened in the 1960s when I was growing up. A lot in the world and a lot in my life. When my family first moved to Kinsley in 1961 we lived on the west edge of town, just down the street from where the Edwards County Road Department shop and yard was at. My Dad also had an office at the county courthouse a few blocks away.

Edwards County Courthouse 

That first house we lived in was pretty nice as I recall. The cool part was back behind the house was this fallen tree, just laying there. It was there when we moved in - don't know how long it had been there. Now, I was 3 yrs old and my little brother was 1 yr old and could walk. I can only imagine the near heart attack my Mom had when she would go outdoors and find us climbing around on this tree. It was white-bleached from the sun with no bark. Smooth as a baseball bat. I don't recall but I'm sure Mom told us time and again to not climb that tree. 

Well, Dad had to listen to Mom, of course. One day, here came some of the county road crew, cut that tree up, loaded it up and hauled it away. I remember crying and being upset about it but too bad. As a parent myself, I understand it but man that was a tough day. ☺

Another thing I remember about that house was the neighbor next door had a brand new Ford Thunderbird. It was beautiful - red exterior, white interior convertible. I had never seen anything like it. I remember just standing there and staring at it, imagining how fast it would go. It looked fast, just sitting in the driveway!

1961 Ford Thunderbird

We didn't have a Thunderbird but we did have a Ford - a 1955 2-door sedan. Nothing fancy but it got us where we needed to go.

 

Peas or the High Priest

Charles Spurgeon told the story of a preacher who was strolling through a village. As he walked along, he saw a man going down the road with a herd of pigs following in line behind him like sheep following behind a shepherd.  This was a very unusual sight, because pigs, ordinarily, are very self-centered, independent creatures that never follow anyone. So, the preacher asked, "Sir, how do you get those pigs to follow you like that?" 
 

"Oh, it's easy," the farmer said. "I have a sack full of peas in my pocket; and I just keep walking, occasionally dropping a pea on the road behind me. The pigs follow along wherever I drop a pea and gobble it up, never caring where I'm leading them." 

 

"That's very clever!" said the pastor. "By the way; where are you leading them?"

 

And the man said, "To the butcher's shop, of course." 

 

The devil often follows the same strategy. The Bible warns us, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). But he rarely carries a big sign that says, "Follow me, so I can devour you." He knows we wouldn't follow him if he was that obvious. Instead, he works subtly to draw us away from God's good will for our lives. 

 

Just like the farmer in that story, the devil drops little, fleshly temptations in front of us through the elements of our culture: a suggestive movie or television show here; an off-color story or inappropriate joke there; a seductive advertisement or pop song here; a pornographic magazine or web page there. Satan knows our earthly, sinful human nature. He knows what tempts us, regardless of gender or age. He’s got centuries of experience over all of us.

 

And if we aren't alert, we follow along behind, picking such things up and thinking, "I can handle this. This isn't so bad. It's just a little pea, after all. It tastes good. Who's it going to hurt? Who's going to care? Who's going to know?" We gobble these tempting little "peas" up, one after another; never realizing that they're forming a straight line that is leading us down a slippery slope to destruction and loss. 

 

The answer that the Bible gives to such things is summed up in one word: "Flee" (1 Corinthians 6:18). 

 

It’s not that simple though, is it? We can’t do it on our own strength. It helps to know that we have Someone that can, and will, give us the strength to fight the power of Satan. Jesus is our High Priest that knows how tempted we are by Satan and life here on earth.

 

“Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death…For this reason He had to be made like His brother in every way, in order that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in service to God, and that He might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is ABLE TO HELP THOSE WHO ARE BEING TEMPTED.” Hebrews 2:14-18

 

Find yourself tempted, stumbling and feeling guilty? Don’t let such things get you down and cause you to give up. Our precious Savior, Jesus Christ, knows exactly what you’re going through. He was tempted but did not yield thus He will give us the strength we need to fight temptation. But He can only help by how connected we are with Him. Get connected. Pray, read, and meditate on His word.

 

Peace.

Packing Your Parachute

Charles Plumb was a U.S. Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience.

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!"

"How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb.

"I packed your parachute," the man replied. 

Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. 

The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!"

Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he had looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat; a bib in the back; and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are you?' or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor." 

Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent at a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time, the fate of someone he didn't know.







Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?" Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. He also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory -- he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety.

Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. As you go through your day, week, this month, and this year, recognize people who “pack your parachutes”.

Washed by the Highest Servant

Washed by the Highest Servant

I was just thinking about the Last Supper in John 13. Jesus getting up from His seat and getting the basin of water and towel and kneeling down to wash the disciples' feet. It was the norm, the everyday custom, for what servants were supposed to do when a guest entered another's home  - wash the dust off the feet.

Can you imagine what the disciples must have been feeling in that moment? Imagine being Peter. Jesus comes to you to wash your feet. What?!  Wash my feet?? This is Jesus! You have followed Him for three years. You have been soaked for three years in the most revolutionary teachings. You have witnessed Him heal blind, crippled, paralyzed, diseased people. You've seen broken people's lives changed. Demons cast out. 5000 men fed with a boy's lunch - two fish and five barley loaves. At the command, "Come," from Jesus, you walked on water...think about that.  

Come on, Jesus! YOU? Wash my feet!??? You were there with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration. You heard the actual voice of God, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Wash my feet! How crazy does that sound? Jesus assuming the role of a servant ... washing my nasty, sandal- wearing, dirt road-covered feet.

Peter said to Him, "You shall never wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." John 13:8.

Wow! "No part with Me." That will stop you cold and make you think. We all need Jesus to clean us. Back up to verse 6. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, "Lord, are You washing my  feet?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this."

How many times do we find ourselves in this very place. Things look wrong, out of place...this isn't the way it is supposed to be. It's out of the natural order. "Lord, are You washing my feet?"... Are You working in this area of my life? This trial, these circumstances...are You washing me? It's one thing to have Jesus come with a towel and a basin of water and wash me. But to mess with my life? I don't really want this. I just want to do my thing. It's not that big a deal...not really. I'm with You, Lord, but let me alone in this area or that. Not my feet, Lord.

It won't be a towel, nor a basin of water that He will use to cleanse your life. What is the Lord using to cleanse you? Take a deep look at the things in your life. Ask Jesus to show you the towel and basin He is using for you. It will be people, circumstances, issues...the things of life. Jesus' goal is not to take these things and use against you; but to release you from what you don't see as binding, into what He knows is for your best. 

Psalm 138:8 puts it so wonderfully, "The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands."

Sometimes things don't look right, they look crazy. But, trust the  Lord. He knows the plans He has for you. "Plans of good and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Put your faith and trust in Jesus and follow His leading.

Open and closed doors. "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this." 

After what?

 After you stop surrendering to the circumstances and surrender to the Lord of them.

John 13:9 -- Peter said to Him, "Lord, not just my feet only, but also my hands 

and my head!" 

It's about total surrender. It's about wanting Jesus so much in every part of your life, every fiber of your being that you cry out to Him: "All of me! Lord, all of me, all that I am - make it yours!"

He wants to you know Him totally.  That's why after He washed the disciples' feet (even Judas!), He offered the bread and wine that symbolized His own body and blood - the body nailed to the cross, the blood shed to cleanse all of us from sin.

He surrendered all for us...can we surrender all for Him?

It's our choice.

In Christ's Love,

Weylin

Keep your eye on the Eastern sky!

For as the lightning come out of the east, and shine even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matthew 24:27

Two Sisters

There two elderly sisters in the local church and had been members of the church all of their lives. One of them lived on a farm, which had a large acreage and in the past it had been very productive. The other sister lived in a modest condo, which she kept immaculately clean.

The sister on the farm was widowed and had lived a hard life. She was weary and very needy. She didn't go out much and as the years sped past, she almost became a recluse. Her sister, on the other hand, was very outgoing, had a wonderful husband, and a lot of joy in her life.

To look at both of them, you wouldn't think they came from the same home, but they did. In fact, they were both brought up on the same farm. When their father died, they were due to equally inherit the family farm, but one of the sisters managed to get her father sign over ownership to both her and her husband before her dad died.

The other sister was left with nothing, and so she quit the farm and went to live in public housing in the nearby town. Throughout her life, she didn't have very much financially, but the riches of her life were a loving husband, great children, and a joyful disposition.

On the other hand, her sister had all the riches of the farm, which she and her husband squandered over the years. She ended up with a bad marriage, estranged children, and a guilty conscience for the rest of her days. The beautiful thing is that in her last few years of sickness, her loving sister visited her and cared for her each day on the farm. One was rich and had lived a lie. The other was poor, but showed unfailing love.

Every day we make choices and decisions: the question we must ask ourselves is this - are we only choosing to fulfill our desires and deceive ourselves, or are we willing to share our blessings and show unfailing love?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we all suffer injustice in our lives, and trouble never seems far away. Sometimes we bring this on ourselves because of greed, insecurity or ambition. Help us to remain true to You in all that we seek to do this day. Keep us free from guile and deception. Enable us to show compassion and care, even to those who hurt and disappoint us. In Your Holy name, we pray. Amen. 

What the Enemy Says About Jesus

It is common to hear various non-biblical statements about the person and work of Jesus Christ. For example, "Jesus was just a man, not God" or "Jesus is only a teacher or prophet" or "Jesus' death was unfortunate, but didn't accomplish anything." Jesus claimed that he was God and that he came to seek and save the lost by conquering Satan, hell, death, evil, and sin. A few of his followers got that, but all of the demons that speak in the Gospels seem to understand this...and they shudder (James 2:19).

So, what do demons think of Jesus?

It is interested to see what the enemies of Jesus Christ, the demons, thought and said about him. It's generally not a good rule of thumb to get your theology from demons, but in this case it is fascinating because what they say repeats what the rest of the Bible proclaims about who Jesus Christ is and what his life, death, and resurrection mean for us. The demons in the Gospels have better teachings about Jesus than some preachers with their weak doctrines of Christ!

"What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?"—Matthew 8:29

"What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God."—Mark 1:24, Luke 4:34

"You are the Son of God."—Mark 3:11

"You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.—Luke 4:41

Jesus Casting out Demons
"What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me."—Luke 8:28, Mark 5:7 

Prior to the demons' proclaiming their beliefs about Jesus is His command over them. In each of the passages, the demons are not even permitted to voice their beliefs without the permission of Jesus, the sovereign God. When they are permitted to speak, they acknowledge His cultural identity, His divinity, and His power over their each and every move. They acknowledge Him as Lord, Son of God, the Holy One of God—and they shudder before Him. The demons know that Jesus has come to earth from heaven to judge them (Rev 19:15), destroy the kingdom of darkness (Gen 3:15, Rom 16:20), disarm the demonic order (Col 2:15), and set captives free from sin and death (Rom 6:23, Rom 8:2). Calling Him "Son of God" is a clear declaration of Jesus' divinity (Matt 26:63-64; John 5:17); 10:33-36), and the phrase "Holy One of God" is never used to describe anyone but God (Jeremiah 50:29; Isaiah 30:11).

So why did I share all of this? Because we, His children, should not allow ourselves to become fearful of this world. Demons are fallen angels. They FELL from heaven by Christ's power. They are defeated. So do fear the things of this world. Trust in Jesus Christ. Believe in Him - but unlike the demons who believed yet trembled in fear - believe in Him and tremble with joy.